Declawing my kitten?

Question

I just got a new kitten and when we get her fixed, we were going to only get her front claws declawed. Only because I have a dog, and my dog loves cats, but we feel that if she scratches my dog, my dog might not understand. We did it with our last cat, and they got along great, except my cat started peeing everywhere after she was declawed. We just heard that it was because we declawed her? Is it true? Will that always happen? And will my new cat do anything else?

ok, to all you who said it was cruel, I'm not chopping her whole paw off, and it's only her front one's. Would it be better if my dog got mad at her, and lost patience? She won't go outside, we live off a very busy road, and even if we were to move to a neighborhood where she could go out, they only need their back claws to climb. They use it to push themselves up. We never even thought to have a cat declawed and staying inside, but when we got our last cat, she was a kitten, and would scratch my dog and my dog would be like, "umm yo, i'm the boss here." This little one is a feisty one too, and there's no doubt she will scratch my dog. After we declawed the front paws of my other cat, she and my dog got along soo great, all the pictures we have of them are of them cuddling. All I need to know, is if she'll pee in my house, I don't care if u hate me or think i'm cruel, cuz i'm not. In fact everyone makes fun of me because of the animal lover i am.

Answer 1

When you get a cat declawed it will not affect them.My cat is declawed and she never had a problem peeing all over the place,no bitting problem,no jumping problem,no litter box problem,no personality problems,no behavorial problems. She is able to do things normally. She is a very happy cat

http://www.geocities.com/declawing/index.htm

Answer 2

DON'T DO IT!!!!!

How would you feel if someone came along and took you to the doctor and they ripped out your fingernails and told you it was just because they "felt that you might get along better with others"?

You are basically saying here that your dog might not understand if the cat scratched it. So what? Animals are animals and they learn ways of getting along or who to stay away from -- just like people. The dog may not understand getting scratched, but I can guarantee you the kitty will NOT understand why you took away her most basic defense mechanism.

That is not even cool at all. If you are going to have a cat, you need to accept the things that come along with it. This includes claws.

What would happen if she ever accidentally got outside? She would have no way of defending herself and she would not be able to climb a tree or something to get out of danger.

PLEASE! I am begging you...DON'T DO IT!!! It is absolute cruelty!!!

And if you do, I hope she pees all over your house and does it all the time. You will deserve it!!! And I am not a mean person, but this is how strongly I feel about declawing!!!

Answer 3

OK, if you don't want to hear our answers, then why even ask?! Declawing is obviously very cruel and inhumane. It is banned in many countries, and many vets here refuse to do the operation. My dog loves cats, and that's because she got a few claws to the nose when she got out of line. See, that's the way the animals were made, and I think that's the best way. Oh, and to all who whine about your furniture: if you put that couch ahead of the well-being of your cat, or any living thing, well, you shouldn't be allowed to have a cat.

Answer 4

I had this problem too, my cat actually started scratching furniture and I was at my wits end. Still, declawing didn't seem like the best thing to do. I went to Petsmart and asked about alternatives, and they recommended soft claws. They are little covers that are glued to the nail. They are not permentant, but they stay on for a few weeks and then you just reapply. They have worked great for me, they even come in a bunch of different colors. It's definitely worth a shot for your cat, right?

Answer 5

I work at a cat shelter, and I can tell you that there is a connection between declawing and litterbox issues. There are many cats that start eliminating outside the box and will do so for the rest of their lives. People try to dump these kind of cats on shelters all the time.
The cat is NOT going to shred the dog. The dog will understand that if it bothers the cat too much, it might get scratched. Dogs learn.
Declaw ONLY if you are prepared for the cat to have issues and if you are willing to accept the results.

Answer 6

Please reconsider the declawing. The dog will completely understand if the cat scratches him. It means "get away" or stop, or leave me alone in cat language.

Declawing is painful and cruel in all but the most extreme circumstances. Did you know it is like cutting off your finger tips?

Your cat probably started peeing all over after it was declawed because walking in the box was so painful the cat associated going in the box with pain.

Answer 7

We would declaw our to protect our little kids because cat scratches are nasty and to protect the furniture. Post never seemed to do as well.
My nephew's 4 lb dog almost lost his eye last week from their cat that was not declawed. The cat will now be done so they won't have to keep the cat locked up and away from the dog

Answer 8

De-clawing is NOT just removing the claw it is the same as having your finger amputated up to the first knuckle!
I am sure your dog is smart enough that if your kitty gives it a little swat he will learn not to do what made kitty react like that. Cats need to have those claws to exercise their tendons in their legs. That's why you see them stretch out and scratch a scratching post or tree.
People here are just trying to look out for your kitty, not get down on you. Good luck sweetie. Please do what is right for your kitty and let her keep her toes ; )

Answer 9

hmm that's weird.. my cats never did that after we declawed them, tho they were kinda in a bad mood for like a few days-a week but that's probably cos they're still recovering from the operation. I only heard of male cats peeing after they get neutered. We spayed our two cats & declawed their front paws in one day so they were a bit tired for about a week. Though you should wait to declaw cats till they're at least 6 months.

Answer 10

Don't declaw, it's cruel and it really messes them up in many ways. There are lots of dogs and cats that get along fine without this process.